Nightmares
by Posauthor
Summary: Noctis is injured while clearing out dungeons for Ezma.


Prompto wished Noct had never taken that task from Ezma at the Meldacio Hunter HQ. They were clearing out dungeons, killing off the big nasties. They were on the last one, Costlemark Tower, when things took a turn for the worst. They were fighting the Bilröt, it was almost done for and was heading in for one more attack, straight for Prompto, but Noct had jumped in front of him, pushing him out of the way. Prompto looked up as a fang embedded itself in Noct's gut. Prompto screamed his best friend's in horror. Luckily Ignis was close by to pull Noct away from the monster. Gladio yelled at Prompto to get up and help him finish it off.

He jumped to his feet and helped Gladio take the monster down. They didn't even feel estatic taking it down, they were worried about Noct. The both ran over, kneeling down beside Ignis.

"Ignis, how's he doing?" Gladio asked, fear in his voice.

"Not good, the bleeding won't stop, and we're out of potions." Ignis told him, "We need to move him somewhere safe. I have to get this bandaged." He said.

"Our camp should still be set up a couple floors up." Gladio said, they all looked down as Noct gurgled up blood, his eyes were shut.

"Noct, you need to keep your eyes open." Ignis said, lightly smacking his cheek with his blood covered hand. The younger boys eyes rolled around in his head, he was trying his hardest to keep his eyes open for them.

Ignis was looking around for something that he could keep on Noct's abdominal to minimize the he bleeding. Prompto took his jacket off and then his shirt and gave the shirt to Ignis to apply on Noct.

"Thank you Prompto." He said and kept the shirt pressed down, "Gladio, you'll need to carry him, Prompto, help me lift him." Ignis told them. And they tried their hardest to make it as painless as possible for Noct as they lifted him, but they could tell it was hurting him.

"I'm sorry, Noct, but we can't stay here, we have to get back to camp." Ignis told him, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Let's go. Prompto watch the rear, I'll watch the front." They moved as quickly as they could, Gladio was trying his best not to jostle the prince.

They finally reached the camp about half an hour later. Ignis told Gladio to put Noct inside the tent, and then he began to tear off Noct's shirt, seeing the gash, along with dark bruising all the way around. "Shit, Prompto, put his head I'm your lap, keep an eye on his breathing." Ignis said and found some gloves in the first aid kit. He pulled out thick bandages and applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

It took a bit, but he finally got the bleeding to stop, he taped the bandage around the wound, sighing in relief. He took off the bloodied gloves and threw them into an empty bag, and quickly put new ones on. "How's his breathing Prom?"

"Still regular, he's in and out of it." Prompto said, rubbing Noct's head in a comforting manner.

"Good, he needs to stay awake, try talking to him for me. I have to sterilize the wound. This will probably hurt." Ignis told him.

"Gotcha." He said then looked down at his best friend. "Noct, you need to wake up , buddy. Ignis is about to clean your wound and it's probably gonna hurt." Noct just barely nodded his head. Prompto nodded at Ignis to begin.

Ignis pulled out the supplies needed and sat next to Noct, "Gladio, I may need you to hold him down, once I start,. Have to finish." He told him as he prepared to clean the wound.

Gladio nodded and put both arms over Noct's lower arms. Ignis nodded at both of them that he was ready to start. Both of his companions nodded and put pressure on their friend. "Noct this is going to be extremely painful. I apologize in advance." Ignis told him.

He began cleaning, as quickly and proficiently as he could. He made sure it was cleaned perfectly as he packed it. He made sure it was packed correctly then placed a bandage around it and lightly taped it.

"Okay, the hard part is done. How's Noct?" Ignis asked and disposed of the excess bandages and such. He took his dirtied gloves and threw them away as well.

"His breathing is still regular, I'm surprised he didn't fight more while you were cleaning it." Prompto said.

"He may have passed out from the pain." Gladio said, letting go of Noct's arms.

"Most likely. Well, we should let him rest. I will check on him in an hour. And give him a potion tomorrow and see if that does anything." Ignis said and packed up the supplies.

"Right, help me lift his head?" Prompto asked Gladio. He nodded and gently lifted Noct's head so that Prompto could get up. Gladio was thankful that Noct had a pillow with him,. He laid that under the Kings head.

'"Alright, let's let him rest." Gladio said, nudging Prompto's arm. Prompto looked at his friend as guilt tore through him. He walked out after Gladio and sat in one of the chairs. Dropping his head in his hands. Gladio walked by and lightly smacked his head.

"What's up, buttercup?" he said, sitting in the chair next to Prompto. He had a canned soda in each hand and offered one to Prompto. Prompto took it and set it in his chair.

"This is my fault. He shouldn't have tried to block that attack for me." Prompto told his friend. "It should be me in there, not him. I almost got him killed." Prompto was nearly in tears, the guilt eating away at him.

"Listen, Prompto, Noct would beat you senseless if he knew you were beating yourself up like this, hell, I'm tempted. If it were the other way around, we'd all be worried about your well-being. And Noct would be sitting here beating himself up. It's no one's fault. This shit happens." Gladio said opening his drink and taking a gulp. "So my advice, just wait it out." He said.

Prompto just nodded and stared at his hands in silence. He looked up as he heard Ignis exit the tent. Ignis nodded at him and set up his dishes to begin cooking dinner. Prompto got up and walked over to help, so he could not dwell on the thought of his best friend.

"Need any help Ignis?" he asked quietly.

"If you wish, you can chop the vegetables for me."

"Alright." Prompto said quietly and grabbed the needed items. They prepped in silence until Ignis looked over at him.

"Gladio is right, Prompto. You shouldn't blame yourself for this." He told him, Prompto nodded and continued chopping the vegetables.

"I know, but the guilt is eating at me." He said. He finished chopping his portion and watched Ignis cook the rest of the meal, adding them to the pot.

"Yes, I know, and it would do good for you to relax and take a deep breath." Ignis told him. "The food will be ready shortly, go sit and relax." Ignis said, turning back to the pot. Prompto nodded and walked back to his chair and sat down. They all sat in silence while Ignis finished preparing their meal.

"Soup's done." Ignis said and poured some into a bowl for each of them. He walked over and handed them each a bowl and spoon, and retrieved his and sat on the other side of Prompto. They all ate in silence, and when they finished they laid out their sleeping bags outside the tent, Noct needed the room to heal. Prompto curled himself into his bag and tried not to cry as guilt tore through him once again. He shut his eyes tight as tears slowly fell from his eyes.


End file.
